This Land Was Made For You And Me

February 22, 2006

One of my sons serves in the military. He remains stateside here in California. He called me yesterday to let me know how warm and welcoming people were to him and his troops. Everywhere he goes, telling me how people shake their hands and thank them for being willing to serve and fight for not only our own freedoms but so that others may have them also.

But he also told me about an incident in the grocery store he stopped at yesterday on his way home from the base. He said that ahead of several people in front of him stood a woman dressed in a burkha. He said when she got to the cashier she loudly remarked about the U S flag lapel pin the cashier wore on her smock. The cashier reached up and touched the pin, and said proudly Yes, I always wear it and probably always will.”

The woman in the burkha then asked the cashier when she was going to stop bombing her countrymen, explaining that she was Iraqi. A gentleman standing behind my son stepped forward, putting his arm around my son’s shoulders and nodding towards my son. He said in a calm and gentle voice to the Iraqi woman: “Lady, hundreds of thousands of men and women like this young man have fought and died so that YOU could stand here, in MY country and accuse a check-out cashier of bombing YOUR Countrymen. It is my belief that had you been this outspoken in YOUR own country, we wouldn’t need to be there today. But, hey, if you have now learned how to speak out so loudly and clearly I’ll gladly buy you a ticket and pay your way back to Iraq so you can straighten out the mess in YOUR country that you are obviously here in MY country to avoid.”

Everyone within hearing distance cheered!

Either my dad or my sister sent me this email earlier today with the suggestion that I send it to all my “proud American friends.” Which if this was Russia during the Cold War I’d sent it to my comrades; my brothers in arms. Frankly, I’d rather not perpetuate this patriotic ideal. It’s been more than 200 years since the American Revolution which is the timeperiod the man is referring to who fought for rights of other people to come here and speak freely. In that 200 years our entire society has completely changed. We are not the same country anymore. Every single ammendment has other stipulations. For instance, we have the freedom of speach… but only if we have the money and power to be published and heard and if we have a city/state permit to have a public speach. We have the freedom to “bear arms” but only if after we have waited for a 5-day background check thanks to the Brady Law, we also need a permit to own the gun and only certain types and models of guns are allowed. We have the freedom of religion but only if we are recognized by the federal government as a religion. Furthermore this freedom of religion is subjected to the laws and regulations of the justice system. No religion would be allowed if it’s beliefs included infant sacrifice, beastiality, and nudism.

So the American Revolutionaries fought so this Iraqi woman could yell irrational insults and questions at a gocery store cashiere who just happened to be a little patriotic in her apparel. They also fought so the soldier to insult the Iraqi woman for utilizing her freedom of speach. So if BOTH people are utilizing the SAME freedom then why the FUCK is there even an argument here? Those people cheering are cheering at what exactly? The ostracization and shaming of a foreigner who just happens to have beliefs which differ from a soldier’s? It’s a contradiction. He’s praising the fact that we live in a society that allows the freedom of speach and belief and in the same breath degrading her for speaking and having opposing beliefs! Why the hell are they cheering!

The US isn’t his land. It’s everybody’s. To quote the famous patriotic American song: “This land was made for you and me.” He might as well say “this is white man’s land but we are tolerating other cultures living on our land.” And even if she was in “HER” land, which by the way doesn’t even have the freedom of speach, and less so for women, she legally could not be this “outspoken.”
For once, may God bless some other fucking country.

I just recently received this same chain email (subject: This is wonderful – must read) and found your blog post while googling for information. So well written, thank you. I couldn’t have said it any better. I’ve sent a link to your post back to the misguided person who sent me the chain email. One would hope that these insights would open people’s minds; unfortunately, I think we live in dangerously nationalistic times where fear is more important than freedom. Nonetheless, thank you again for this post.